What Happened to Us?
by Spirit of Vengeance
Summary: Near immortality isn't all it's cracked up to be. Cyborg and Raven learn that the hard way.
1. Intro

**What Happened to Us?**  
Near-immortality isn't all it's cracked up to be. Cyborg and Raven learned that the hard way.

My first fic, hope you like it.

"_thoughts", _"flashback labels"  
Oh, and no, I do not own Teen Titans.

* * *

Thunderclouds rolled through the blackened sky as a tall figure in a dark trench coat made his way to an abandoned tower in the bay of a once prosperous town. Making his way to the entrance, he heaved the door open. It fell to the side, rusted from years of little use. Frowning, the ominous figure stepped inside. 

The cloak was discarded, revealing a fusion of blue-silver circuitry and brown skin. The being known as Cyborg trudged in, not bothering to scan the area for foreign life forms. A few roaches skittered past his foot as he walked into the main section of the former headquarters. He walked through the first level of the tower. Reaching the living room, Victor sat gingerly on the rotted couch, remembering the many videogames he had played with his teammates when they were still the Titans.

He sat on the sofa for while, his head resting on his hands, until he heard a noise behind him. Whirling around, he activated his night vision, searching for the source of the disturbance. A chill ran down his spine when he saw a shadow other than his appear on the opposite wall. He morphed his arm, charging his sonic cannon with the familiar blue energy. Suddenly, a voice he hadn't heard in years called his name. Pale fingers touched the side of his weapon. "Cyborg? Cyborg, it's me." He slowly turned his head to look at the person who called his name. "R-raven?"

* * *

More chapters to come, minions.  
Now review or the weird monkey will eat you.  
"Gir appears in monkey suit and eats you": I liike to make waafffleeess... 


	2. Chapter 1: Accusations and Letters

I reeeaaalllly apologize for the incredibly long wait; school stuff and whatnot.

Pale fingers touched the side of his weapon. "Cyborg? Cyborg, it's me." He slowly turned his head to look at the person who called his  
name. "R-raven?"

"What-how-" Raven raised an eyebrow. "Surprised?" The half-robot's eyes widened. "You're not the only one with an extended lifespan." "How did you-" She held up a hand, and her eyes narrowed. "You left us, Cyborg No explanations, no letter, nothing. You just left." She walked up to him and stuck an accusing finger in his chest. "Why? Why couldn't you just tell us? We would've understood!" Her eyes flashed venomously. "Do you know how Starfire _did _after you left? She almost died from not eating, _Victor._ The whole team split up. Everyone's dead, courtesy of Deathstroke." Cyborg opened his mouth, but no words were spoken. An eternity passed before his vocal cords started working again. "I'm sorry." Raven collapsed onto the couch, her head in her hands. "You left us." She looked up, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "You left _me_," she choked out. Cyborg's electronic eye dimmed. "It's not what you think, Raven." Not knowing what to do, he took a seat beside her as a long forgotten memory began to replay in his head.

_Cyborg flopped onto his recharging chamber with a loud groan. Someone knocked on the door. "Come in," said the metal teen. Robin walked in holding a brown envelope. "It's from your father." He gave it to Cyborg and left, but not before congratulating him on the good work in the previous combat against the Hive Five (now there really were five members, since Jinx had switched sides.) Cyborg casually ripped open the seal, which revealed a letter. "Dear Victor, how are you…" Cyborg's eyes scanned the paper until he came to the third paragraph. He stopped and read it again, slowly this time: "Despite all those setbacks. STAR Labs is still up and running, thanks to Bruce Wayne. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the reason your cells haven't aged normally is due to the cybernetic half of your body. The tests we ran showed that your robotic side has greatly slowed the growth, and by extension, deterioration, of your bodily organs. Congrats, son, your lifespan is now increased by almost 1000 percent! Hope you haven't completely dismissed the idea of inheriting my labs!" Cyborg blinked and reread the paper. 1000 percent?_

"Pretty interesting, huh?" He turned and realized that Raven had fallen asleep during his little narration. He yawned. "I'd better recharge myself," he muttered, before hooking himself up and shutting down his systems.

There, I finally got the second chapter up. I'll honestly try not to keep you waiting like that again (for a while P). Please review and give me your honest opinion on the story. Longer chapters? Ideas? Should I end it in a chapter or two, or should it go on for a while? OOC? Thanks. Oh, and how do you do the ruler/line thing? It won't work for me.


	3. Chapter 2: Reunions and Waffles

Never try to update a story while moving into a boarding school. Seriously. I apologize for the obscenely short chapters, I guess that's my style or something.

I do not own the Titans. (yet…)

_Restarting systems. Charge successful: 98 percent. Life support on. Thought processors functioning. GST: 945 hours. Last dream sequence: consummation of food products-cooked batter cake mixture, ground seeds of coffee plant. Status: hungry. Command/wakeup/._

Cyborg's eyes blinked open, the pleasant smell of fresh waffles and coffee  
filling his nostrils. "Waffles," he muttered, pushing himself off the couch and making his way to the kitchen on autopilot. He began to open the fridge door before his brain kicked in. The fridge hadn't been used in years, who knows what's growing in there. Remembering last night, he decided to try and apologize. Peering over the side of the couch, he frowned. Raven wasn't there. "Raven? Hello?" He swallowed hard. '_Maybe she left. She was really ticked off. But why was she here in the first place? How long has she been gone?" _He sighed and massaged his temples. "She probably just went out to get something to eat. Wouldn't be that hard, the city's almost abandoned-" Cyborg head flew up as he recalled why he had come to Titans Tower in the first place. "Ohmanohmanohman," he repeated as he ran out of the tower, towards the city.

Raven strolled through the streets of Jump City (now referred to as Dump City) with the herbal tea and waffle mix she had "bought" from the mall. She walked around a little, looking at the other deserted stores, before heading back to the tower. She didn't notice the dark figure watching, about to strike. Fortunately, Cyborg did. "Raven, behind you!" The purple haired girl turned around to face her shadowy assailant. Too late. Deathstroke leapt from the alley, dagger glinting in his hand. Raven could barely open her mouth to chant her spell before the crazed assassin made a sweeping cut at her midsection, slicing her stomach. The sorceress fell to the ground. "RAVEN!" Cyborg ran to her before scooping her up over his shoulder. He then slowly turned towards Deathstroke, his red eye turning an even brighter shade of crimson. "_Stay the fuck away from her,"_ he growled. The madman's eye widened when he realized who the tall mass of metal was. He ran for the comfort of the shadowy alley before Cyborg could aim his cannon. "I'll be back, Cyborg!" The android scowled and walked back to the tower, carrying the unconscious girl in his huge arms.

"So, why was Slade after you?" Cyborg asked the girl currently healing her injury. Raven retrieved some bandages from the first aid kit by her side. "I don't know. He disappeared a while back; maybe he's just trying to finish what he started…" She trailed off, looking into space. Cyborg looked at her intently. "I know he killed the others, but why would he come back?"

Raven glanced at him. "Who knows why villains do anything anymore." She closed the first aid kit and attempted to sit up straight. Cyborg shook his head and gently placed her back in her reclining position. "You got cut pretty deep; you might want to rest." Raven narrowed her eyes and struggled to get up again, but Cyborg had his hands firmly on her shoulders. "Cyborg, get off of me," she growled threateningly. Victor grinned a little. Same old Raven. "Sorry, but I'm not moving until you stop struggling." Raven gave a little huff. "Fine. I'll lie down, _if _you tell me why you left." Her voice lowered a bit. "The _real _reason." Cyborg let go and placed his hands on the couch behind him. "Alright," he agreed. "So, here's what happened…"

Why is Slade back (and is apparently insane)? Why did Victor leave? Which came first: the chicken or the egg? You'll find out if you review. Honest.


	4. Chapter 3: Flashbacks and Battles

Note: Sorry about the long wait; my Internet was removed for a while as a result of going over 1 Gig of bandwidth per week. Boarding school Internet rules suck.

A/N: In this story (and hopefully others), Terra has indeed returned to live in Titans Tower and is in a romantic relationship with Beast Boy, though she still attends the school seen in Things Change and is somewhat of a reserve member on the team.

A/N 2: The letter from Silas Stone in the first few chapters has nothing to do with the events in this chapter; it was just a cancelled idea I was working on.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.

Chapter 4

Raven placed her herbal tea on the coffee table and listened to Cyborg's story. "You already know about the accident I had, right? The one that made me like this?" he gestured towards the metal portions of his face. Raven nodded. "Well, there was a side effect, besides the red eye and stuff. It first came up during that battle with Cinderblock…"

"_Titans, GO!" Robin yelled the battle cry from his cycle as the team raced towards the steel factory where the menace known as Cinderblock was destroying everything in sight. Beast Boy was the first there, followed by Starfire and Raven. Cyborg parked his car and walked towards the entrance to the factory. "Let's do this," the android grinned, preparing his new and improved sonic cannon for battle. After that incident with the Brotherhood mysteriously disappearing from their subzero prison (not to mention that incident in Tokyo), the Titans had to be ready for anything. "I wanna see what my baby can do!" _

_Robin pulled up on his R-Cycle and headed inside, with the other Titans following. "We have to be careful," the leader warned. "He could be anywh-" A huge fist shot up from directly underneath Robin's feet, catching the boy by surprise. Starfire flew to his aid, blasting the hand until it disappeared under the ground. A second later, Cinderblock himself emerged from the floor, looking very ticked off. Robin threw a few exploding birdarangs at him, yelling (need I say it?) "Titans, go!" _

_Beast Boy morphed into a gorilla and proceeded to attack, only to be thrown off by the hulking stone mass, who seemed to have gotten stronger after his imprisonment. Raven's telekinesis gave little help; they were in a steel factory, and Cinderblock could easily withstand the metal objects. Cyborg took aim with his "cyber cannon", as he liked to call it. "Hey, rocks for brains!" Cyborg fired. "Booyah!"_

_Cinderblock was faster than expected. He jumped over the beam of energy and landed right in front of Cyborg. The teen sweatdropped as Cinderblock's hand enclosed around the opening of his weapon, crushing it into a compact ball. Cyborg screamed as the energy feedback from his blast rebounded throughout his own body, sending several circuits into oblivion. Instinctively, Robin rushed to help his comrade, only to be backhanded into a pile of metal plates. _

_Cyborg took the opportunity to run, examining his arm as his feet took him in an instinctive direction. Cinderblock was not to be evaded so easily, however. He let loose a roar and gave chase, each thunderous step echoing throughout the factory corridors. He caught up with Cyborg and proceeded to punch Cyborg into the ground, keeping up a steady hail of fists until the half-robot's inner mechanical workings were fully exposed and blood poured from his organic half. _

_The stone creature swung Cyborg into several walls, finally throwing him through the roof and into the harbor nearby. His howls could be heard from many miles away as he crashed into the freezing water. _

2 Hours later

_The team trudged into the tower, sore but victorious. Cinderblock was definitely stronger. All of them had their own share of wounds, not to mention Cyborg, who had miraculously, albeit not unscathed, survived the plunge into the Jump City harbor. _

"_At least we won," the Boy Wonder commented in a weak attempt to cheer everyone up. Starfire nodded and smiled halfheartedly. Cyborg was leaning painfully against the window, lost in thought. On all accounts, he shouldn't have survived. Cinderblock's barrage should have left him for dead. He looked down at his right arm, now nothing more than a half melted piece of metal with oil slowly oozing from severed hydraulics. He grimaced and made a crude attempt to wipe away some of the caked blood from his chin._

_Raven noticed his apparent discomfort and floated over to him. "Let me help," she offered, holding a recently teleported cloth in her hand. The titan shook his head. "I got it," he mustered through gritted teeth. "No, you don't. You are hurt, and I'm trying to help you." Her purple eyes flashed in irritation. Cyborg threw up his hands-er, hand. "I said I got it! I've been in worse. Look, Raven, thanks for the offer, but I really shouldn't be here right now. I should be at the bottom of the ocean in pieces." A few objects started to levitate as Raven floated upwards to see eye to eye with Cyborg. "Well, you are not at the bottom of the ocean, and what's more, you should be glad to have survived. Not many people have the chance to-" Cybrog cut her off. "To what, Raven? To make everything all better just by ordering a new set of parts? I shouldn't be here." He took a few breaths to calm down. "Something's not right is all I'm saying. My dad put all this stuff on me to keep me alive, not so I could go out and fight evil. At least, that's what he told me. This," he pointed to his arm, " is so the human muscles won't collapse, not so I can shoot stuff from it." His shoulders sagged. "I don't even know why I'm pissed off. I just… I dunno. I gotta go think about this." Victor went to his room to make repairs, leaving a confused team and a concerned Raven._

_Cyborg sat in the metal chair at his desk, trying to remove the water from his arm. Why was he mad at Raven? She had only been trying to help. Besides, he hadn't really been in worse. At least, not before the incident that made him like this, anyway. Why _was _he alive? It didn't add up. Cyborg gave up the attempt to drain his arm and decided to go to STAR Labs. Maybe his dad could help._

Raven interrupted the story. "Why didn't it add up?" She raised an eyebrow. "You should have been happy to be alive; instead, you were worrying about not dying." Victor released a sigh. "I honestly don't know, Raven. I was just… worried, is all. Wouldn't you be disturbed if you were beaten within less than an inch of your life and survived?" She shrugged at his inquiry. "We can finish this later; I'm hungry." Cyborg's face lit up. "Now you're talking!"

He got up and remembered that the kitchen hadn't been used to cook anything more than Raven's tea in years. A light went off in his head. "Say, Raven, why did you come back to the tower after all this time?" Raven put her hood up. "No reason," she offered somewhat weakly. Cyborg didn't notice her nervousness. "Looks like we're going to have to get some tools to fix this kitchen, and maybe some of the rooms. I'm tired of sleeping on the couch." Raven nodded her agreement, although she secretly enjoyed his company. She felt safer knowing he was right next to her. They grabbed some supplies and headed towards Jump City for their scavenging hunt.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

That's it for the 4th chapter. Interesting outlook on his metal half, eh?

That review button's looking mighty good today.


	5. Chapter 4: Shadows

Note: Updating was based on a schedule that fell through.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.

Chapter 5

Raven and Cyborg reached Jump City with no trouble; it seemed Deathstroke was gone for now. Raven was still weakened from the ambush, so she rode in the T-Car with Cyborg instead of flying. The mechanical hybrid drove in silence for a while before deciding to say something, if only to break the tension. "Sooo. How's your side?" Raven turned her head to face Cyborg, raising an eyebrow at his unexpected apparent concern for her. "I can't heal it as quickly as I'd prefer, but I'll manage." A short silence followed. "Thank you for asking." A small grin appeared on his face.

A half-destroyed shopping complex loomed in front of them as they exited the car. "Well, we're going to need plenty of stuff if we're going to repair the tower." Raven shivered a little; the air was growing cold. "Why would we need to repair the whole tower? We just need things for the kitchen." Cyborg shook his head. "I plan on staying for a while, see what happened to the city. Maybe find Deathstroke. I was going to use the Tower as a hideou-place to stay. Er, I mean, thought I'd fix it up a little." Cyborg grimaced at his slip, hoping Raven didn't notice.

She did. "What do you mean _hideout?_" Who are you hiding from?" Cyborg shrugged innocently. "I don't know what you mean. I said place to stay. Who's hiding?" His lies were thinly fabricated. Raven's eyes narrowed; she wasn't buying it. "I will find out, _Victor_." Cyborg winced at the harsh tones lining her voice and resolved to tell her later. The last thing he needed was an angry Raven. "Look, Raven, I got into some trouble after I left the Titans. Can we get the stuff we came for? I promise I'll tell you later." She ignored the biting winds now sweeping throughout the city and walked inside, leaving Cyborg standing by the T-Car in the snow.

Cyborg gritted is teeth in frustration. He just wanted to leave this behind him. Now it was all coming back. His shoulders sagged as he followed her into the decrepit store, not noticing the shadow that followed close behind.

"Raven? Hello?" Cyborg looked around. He hadn't remembered the mall being this huge. Raven heard him and answered telepathically. "_I'm in the food court. Hurry up, there's something… you should see,"_ her voice, sounding disturbed, echoed in his head. He switched directions, walking by a clothing store with faded letters on the sign. He winced, remembering one of the many times he had been here, as a Teen Titan. His mind drifted back to those mostly carefree times as his feet took him in the general direction of the central food area.

FLASHBACK-TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT-FLASHBACK

"Friend Cyborg!" The cybernetic teenager looked up from his book to see an energetic alien floating towards him, several pink and orange bags in her arms. She seemed to be struggling under the weight of the merchandise. "Friend Cyborg, would you be so kind as to assist me with these bags? They are quite heavy, and I would appreciate it if-" Cyborg put the book down. "Don't worry about it, Star. That's what friends are for, remember?" 

He removed the bags from Starfire's arms, who in turn flopped on the nearest couch in the bookstore. "Thank you so much, friend Cyborg. I have been doing much of the shopping today." She began to say something else, but stopped. "What's up, Star?" Cyborg asked, noticing the troubled look on her face. Starfire exhaled. "Robin and I have been having…the fights. I fear that the _kor'hal_ will overcome our relationship. Oh friend Cyborg, what shall I do?" Cyborg sat down, being careful not to crush any of the things the red-haired alien had in her bags. "Tell me about it, Star. What happened? And what's the kirhaul?" Starfire giggled lightly at Cyborg's mispronunciation. "_Kor'hal_ is similar to the _rekmas_, except it occurs between two people in a relationship. And I fear that it may happen to ours, friend Cyborg!" 

Starfire was near tears. "Richar-Robin has been even more obsessed with catching Slade, and when I ask him about it, he becomes very defensive, and I fear that he does not have feelings for me anymore…" The alien appeared ready to burst into tears. She wrapped her arms around Cyborg's huge abdomen, searching for comfort from the metal Titan. 

"Shhh, Star, it's gonna be okay, I promise. I'm sure Robin still likes you. He just a little stresses sometimes is all. It'll be fine." Starfire's eyes lit up again. "Oh, thank you friend Cyborg! I enjoy these talks we have. I must go find Robin!" Her spirits lifted, Starfire flew out of the bookstore, nearly forgetting her stuff. Cyborg smiled and shook his head as he returned to his book.

FLASHBACKTERMINATED-TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT-FLASHBACKTERMINATED

Cyborg reached the food court, clearing the thoughts from his mind.   
"Raven?" he called out again, looking around. Cyborg heard an almost inaudible whisper. "Over here." The voice came from behind the popcorn stand.

When Cyborg looked over the counter, he instantly felt sick. Raven was kneeling next to a number of bodies. Four Girl Scouts were on the floor, their throats looking as if someone had ripped them out. Blood had splattered onto their uniforms, and looks of horror were frozen on their adolescent faces. A box of cookies, torn open and scattered across the ground, was not far from them.

But what horrified Cyborg and Raven the most were the two corpses about 5 yards down the narrow counter area. Mammoth and Gizmo, former HIVE members, were dead, apparently sacrificing themselves to save the Scouts. Their valiant efforts had been in vain, however.

The state their bodies were in was the stuff of nightmares, nightmares that would plague the two young adults for years. Gizmo's bones were going through the skin at odd angles. His spider legs were driven through his arms and legs, as if someone had wanted to pin him down. His neck was twisted, and the blood from his wounds had long dried up. His right eye was missing from its socket, and his ribcage was exposed through his ripped jumpsuit. One hand was crushed beyond any discernable recognition. Mammoth was in no better shape. A sharp piece of shrapnel was driven through his heart, and his entire lower jawbone was a few feet away from him, ripped messily from his skull. One leg was bent inwards at an unnatural position, and his left arm was gone, leaving a bloody stump. Large fang marks were found on both of them. They had been dead for weeks.

Raven turned to look at Cyborg, her eyes blank and distant. Her mouth opened, releasing one word. "_Who?"_ She looked like a frightened child. Her jaw remained agape as she saw an emotion frozen on Cyborg's face, an expression that he had never shown in his years as a Titan. Fear; pure, unconquerable fear.

Cyborg was shaking. "No…they couldn't be here…years…can't…" Raven attempted to compose herself as much as possible, and repeated her question. "Who did this?" Cyborg began to speak, then froze. He was a complete statue for 2 seconds. Raven's eyes searched his. "What?" Cyborg was not looking at her anymore. Raven probed his mind, gasping at what she felt. There was only one thing running through Cyborg's psyche. Horror of the worst kind, its source deep within Cyborg's subconscious. Raven suddenly felt a tingling sensation on the back of her neck. Raven slowly turned around, trying to look beyond the shadows. All she saw were two faint lights, growing dimmer as time passed, until they became even darker than the shadows themselves. They also seemed to be getting larger.

Cyborg whispered one word, breaking the ominous silence. "Run." Raven whipped around to look at him. Cyborg's red eye was a _very _intense shade of red by this point. The dark points grew larger. "RUN." Cyborg nudged her urgently as the dark circles grew impossibly larger. Were they getting closer? The circles seemed to be taking shape. Humanoid shapes grew from the circles, but they were wrong, somehow. They seemed twisted, animal-like. Raven peered more closely before realizing that they were mere meters away. Why weren't the shadows disappearing? The light from the food court should have exposed whatever those things were by now.

She was distracted by Cyborg. He sounded scared, yet determined. "Raven. I do NOT have time to explain. Now RUN." Those were the last words she heard before a loud, inhuman screech filled the air. One of the shadows lunged towards Cyborg, tackling him to the ground. "RAVEN, RUN!!!" She teleported out of the food court as Cyborg struggled with the dark creature.

Like it? Hate it? Confused? Want more chapters? Reviews can clear these up for you.

On a side note, would someone be so kind as to help me out with the more gruesome portions of the story? My gore writing isn't the best.


End file.
